Vegetarian Yellow Split Pea Soup Recipe

Hearty Canadians know that there is nothing like a hot thick soup to help you enjoy our winter. Here is a soup that can be readily made even in the midst of a winter storm when you can't get out shopping for ingredients. It is made with what we usually have already in the refrigerator and pantry. Simple and very good!!

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 carrot, chopped
2 cups dried split yellow peas, picked over and rinsed
5 to 8 cups liquid (The amount depends on how thick you want the soup. For the liquid, you can use water or vegetable bouillon. For the one I made most recently, I used the used the water I saved from steaming potatoes the night before.)
½ tsp paprika (to taste)
½ tsp cumin (to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a big pot over medium high heat. Stir in onions and cook until the onions soften. Add carrots and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes on medium low. Add the split peas, salt and water, paprika and cumin. Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for about 60 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through until the soup is textured the way you like it. If you need to thin the soup out with more liquid, add just a bit at a time. As you can see from the picture we like it pretty thick. Adjust to taste with more cumin, paprika as well as freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Serve piping hot! A great way to warm up when you in from the cold.

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats

I love hot oatmeal for breakfast. Until I found this recipe, I had been using the more common version of quick oats in the microwave. It was quick and gave me what I needed for that meal. While I knew it was better for me than some breakfast cereals, I also knew that a less processed version of oatmeal would be even better. It seems that the steel cut oats are much better. Because they have not been processed, they have more nutrients and also take longer to digest, meaning that a bowl should keep you pretty satisfied all morning without having to snack before lunch. However, unlike the immediate convenience of the quick oats, this requires advance planning and preparation. The good news is that the advance preparation gives you many servings and so it actually is easier for the rest of the week. You can find a number of recipes on line for slow cooker steel cut oats. I looked at a few to help me put together the recipe below. I was particularly interested in using a recipe that asked for apples as my freezer is full of sliced apples from a very abundant harvest from our two Cortland apples trees this past fall.

This recipe makes 5 one cup servings,

Ingredients
• 2 apples, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2-1/2 to 3 cups)
• 1-1/2 cups fat-free milk
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine (adds to the texture)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

You can also add other ingredients before cooking, such as 2 teaspoons ground flax seed, bran or try experimenting with other ingredients

Optional garnishes: chopped nuts, raisins, maple syrup, additional milk.

Directions
Very lightly coat inside your slow cooker with cooking spray or other ingredient to keep it from sticking (I take a little bit of margarine on a piece of wax paper to coat the inside). Add all ingredients, except for the optional topping to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on low for 7 hours. It comes out pretty thick. Spoon oatmeal into bowls; add optional toppings, if desired. Because this recipe makes 5 cups, it is enough for the week. I store the leftover in the refrigerator and and reheat about a 3/4 cup at a time in the microwave and add some milk and topping before eating. It also freezes well.

If you want to double the recipe, use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Increase cooking time 1 hour.

Mushroom & Leek Gratin

How can anything with the title "Gratin" be a bad thing?  I have been devouring Portobello mushrooms lately and decided I needed a switch from roasting or barbecuing them with garlic and balsamic vinegar, so I came across this delicious-looking recipe for "Mushroom and Leek Gratin" in my December 2011 edition of Food Everyday magazine.

Ingredients:
6-8 Portobello mushrooms (stemmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick)
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks (white and light green parts sliced in 1/4 inch thick half-moons)
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream *
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 finely grated Parmesan cheese
* I can't stomach heavy cream too well, but instead substituted 1/2 cup of soy milk and 1/4 cup of light cream cheese.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet and toss in mushrooms.  Cook until they're softened (about 10 mins) and transfer them to a paper towel lined dish.  In the same skillet, add another 2 tbps oil and toss the leeks about with salt and pepper for about 8 mins.  To the leeks, add the wine until it is almost evaporated.  Next, add the cream (or my substituted mixture), the lemon juice and thyme leaves.  Mix together and transfer this mixture into a baking dish.  Top the mixture with the cooked mushroom slices, overlapping them a little.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and bake the dish for about 20 minutes (or until it begins bubbling).

I made this as a main dish served with baguette, as we were only two eating it, but it could easily be a side dish for more guests.  It yields about 8 small servings (or 3-4 dinner sized servings).  I re-heated some the next day and served some to my brother and it was just as delicious as the previous night.

Looking forward to making this one again!

Mmmmmuffins!!!

Wow - mom we've really dropped the ball on posting anything since the summer!  Can you tell we were both working from home at that point?!  I know we've both been busy trying lots of new recipes, so let's get back to posting as many as possible.  I'm still waiting for your steel oats recipe and butternut squash soup too.

Today, I was craving mixed nuts and was browsing around Kardish Foods in their bulk bins.  After filling about ten bags of different nuts (and some chocolate-covered cranberries) I came across a new-to-me line of pre-made mixes.  I decided to give this one a shot, since I am out of GF flour mixes at home.  The brand is called "Judy's Magic Mixes" and comes from our East-end in Cumberland, Ontario (which makes me happy to know I'm supporting local, home-based business).
                                  
This particular mix is called "Add Your Own Magic Muffin Mix."  Looking at what was needed on the back of the bag, I knew I could go home and make them right away.

The recipe calls for you to add:
1/2 cup of oil
3/4 cup of mashed banana
1/2 cup of hot water
to their bag of mix, which is a blend of gluten-free (GF) flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, sea salt and ground vanilla beans.

Instead of oil, I used applesauce and the results were still fantastic.  You could easily add other dried fruit or chocolate chips (as I did...come on I'm days away from giving birth here!)  These muffins even got the seal of approval from Rob too, even after I told him they were "gluten-free," which normally scares him away.

I would definitely make these again.  It yielded about 16 muffins (although the package says 12, they're quite large even at 16).  A great mid-afternoon snack.

Enjoy!